American Food!

Someone here at work was just talking about regional foods, and I got to thinking about American food.

What is american food? I don't think hamburgers and hot dogs are from America, though I could be wrong.

Perhaps Southern style BBQ places can qualify, but I don't see much out of the south. The ones I have seen that are not in the south are terrible! I only eat that stuff when I'm in Texas, though I did find a really good one in Venice Ca. on lincoln.

In other countries do they have "American Food" restaurants like we have Italian, Chinese, Mexican, and so on.

I do know that a lot of stuff my family makes is American since it's a blend Asian with American comfort food--rice is pretty much interchangeable for potatoes lol. My dad is a quarter filipino so he grew up eating a lot of rice, while my mom grew up eating potatoes so they compromised. Corn beef over rice is awesome and one of my favorites is biscuits and gravy over rice I don't how that could be anything but American.

We have a restaurant (chain of restaurants actually) called Ruby Tuesday in Mumbai which is supposed to serve authentic American food. Never got to try it out because it is infamous for its ridiculous pricing.

I find this an interesting thread though. I mean what was American cuisine before fast food came into the picture?

Most of the above have compromised the American food to filipino tastes. Ketchup on the Chicken for example (instead of gravy), a sweet-sour spaghetti sauce, inclusion of rice in almost every meal, etc.

It's weird, but I can't seem to like eating most food (especially meat) without rice. It just doesn't taste right. As semaj562 said for example, I find the taste of Cornbeef (or any sort of meat) alone pretty overpowering.

American food is very regional, just like in every other country, different dishes evolve based on local ingredients and the tastes of the folks that live there.

The South and Southwest have many varieties of BBQ as well as Soul Food, Cajun and Creole. The coastal states have tons of seafood based dishes, seafood or lowcountry boils, lobster rolls in the North East. In Michigan we have pasties ( the really good ones are in the upper penninsula )

Sedative said[quote][cite]muchmorethanmuscle said[/cite]Chewing gum was invented in the US.

Hm. Actually no. Chicle is Latin American, Precolumbian actually. From the Nahuatl word for the Chicle tree sap 'tziktli'. It's where 'Chiclets' got its name from.[/quote]

Actually for the modern day chewing gum yes, however chewing gum dates all the way back to the ancient greeks who used the resin of the mastic tree.

It terms of what american cuisine is. Id have to really think and look into. There are regional recipes but it is still all americanized foods. Even cajun food originated from an area of canada. The only meal that I can think of being solely invented in the US is the hamburger, but if you go to the origin of ground beef well that goes back to ghengis khan and what is known as todays steak tartar.

Most restaurants that serve "American Cuisine" is actually americanized cuisine. But then again america is considered the melting pot.

If it comes to food I know a lot about it, more so because of my love for cooking. Watching shows like "Good Eats" on the food network help add useless trivia knowledge to my brain.

closetsinger saidWe have a restaurant (chain of restaurants actually) called Ruby Tuesday in Mumbai which is supposed to serve authentic American food. Never got to try it out because it is infamous for its ridiculous pricing.

I find this an interesting thread though. I mean what was American cuisine before fast food came into the picture?

Ruby TUesdays! hahaha I have never eaten there either, but watching their commercials grosses me out. Their food looks like it's full of fat and preservatives.

It's real greasy and I think it's them that have those really thick bacon strips... gross! It disgusts me just thinking about it.

basically, its everything other cultures created, even if the ingredients originated on this continent with the native americans... then we add grease, hormones, and preservatives; we figure out the cheapest way to quickly mass produce, store almost indefinitely, then distribute everything. even the most 'american' foods were invented or inspired elsewhere... so i'd say 'american' isn't so much a food type as it is a food style- the style being fast food and tv dinners, inhuman portions and enough transfat to give a cow atherosclerosis.

Lapinblanc said In Michigan we have pasties ( the really good ones are in the upper penninsula )

Excuse me, but my Cornish Nationalism requires me to point out the Pasties are *CORNISH*.

::raises the St Pirran's cross::

czarodziej saidbasically, its everything other cultures created...

I do appreciate the point, but the beauty of america is its diversity and the beauty of american cuisine is in the fusion.... we have had a similar thing in the UK: Italian + Indian == Balti, South African + Indian, Japanese + english (don't even ask!)

There has never been a culture that has not been influenced or downright stolen other culture's food.

Come to Cleveland and go to Lolita in Tremont. It's the perfect example of this phenomenon (and one of the best restaurants I've ever been to... and I've been to loads!).... cuisine ought not be spelt with a capital C; food is to be enjoyed after all!

The vast majority of 'Americans' are immigrants, and so leads to the conclusion that the vast majority of dishes are also immigrants.

Hot dog = GermanFrench fries = French (I think it was Thomas Jefferson who brought the recipe from France that became the French fry)Apple pie is likely German, but does it matter? Every culture has stuffed things inside of dough.

The secret of the Pastie, which comes from Cornwall, is the rutabaga, which comes from the word 'root bag'. I think it goes that it was a root sold out of a bag, or some such.